Lietuvos energija launches new 290-mln-euro unit at Lietuvos elektrine power plant
VILNIUS. Oct 23 (Interfax) - Lithuanian energy company Lietuvos energija commissioned the new, ninth power unit at the Lietuvos elektrine combined heat and power plant (CHPP) in Elektrenai on Tuesday, the BNS reported.
It took around four years to construct the unit, with the price topping 1 billion litas, or some 290 million euro.
The new combined-cycle unit, capacity 455 megawatts, is Lietuvos energija's largest project. Spanish concern Iberdrola Ingenieria y Construccion built it together with Lithuanian partners. As planned, this power unit will be capable of generating electricity to provide for 20%-25% of Lithuania's needs. It will consume 30% less gas than the CHPP's old units, a portion of which will be dismantled.
Lietuvos energija's CEO Dalius Misiunas said at the opening ceremony that the new unit will run on natural gas, which in the future the company intends to obtain from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal being constructed in Klaipeda.
"Consumers can look forward to ensured reliability and a transparent price. The gas price will account for around 80% of the cost of production. We have a strong impetus to manage gas prices - we really hope to become clients of the LNG terminal. Therefore, we are hoping to implement a model that is effective in many European countries - a terminal and combined cycle as the basis for energy production," Misiunas said.
Lietuvos energija and Klaipedos nafta, which is implementing the LNG terminal project, are planning to sign a final gas procurement agreement by the end of this year. The companies entered into a preliminary agreement last December.
A government commission signed the acceptance report for the power unit on October 17. "Everything has been verified technologically, and the unit has run without any disruptions for a month. The government commission confirmed this fact," Lietuvos energija reported with reference to Misiunas.
In order to implement the project for the new power unit, the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support fund extended 168.2 million euro in financing, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) lent 71 million euro, and Lietuvos energija spent a portion of its own funds.